WARRIORS: Black Abyss
by Bamboofoxfire Productions
Summary: These are not the Clans we know. As CanopyClan's medicine cat dies, he leaves behind a prophecy. "The borders will fall and five beneath the stars will become two. A disease rain down death like deep claws. Then at last, the one once again becomes four."
1. Prologue

**Authors Note:** Hello, Kou here, once more! This time with a WARRIORS fic! This is my…either 9th or 10th story? I lost track at 7th. Anyway, this was something I had on my mind for forever and wanted to do as an RP forum but it never caught on :3 too many warriors sites I guess.

Not much to say, but here's the prologue! Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own WARRIORS. That series belongs to Erin Hunter -sniff-

**Black Abyss**

**A WARRIORS of the Forest Fanfiction**

**By: Kougetsu_KitsuneHinote_Hakuma**

**Prologue**

"How is Crowrasp?" A large brown tom with a white mane and tail meowed as he entered a large opening in the side of a tall tree, the last remnants of black burns along its sides. The wood was large in diameter, with ledges and precipices for a good distance upwards.

"Growing weaker by the second. With Rainpelt helping Bramblesnare with her kitting, there isn't anything we can do for him." A bulky brown tom replied, shifting his eyes to the ground as he plucked the dirt with unusually large claws. A black tom crouched next to him, looking to the brown and white tom through large, gold eyes.

"Speaking of…" He began, his tail flicking anxiously. "How is the kitting coming? Does Rainpelt need anything?" The brown and white tom shook his head.

"No, she has Earthpaw to fetch anything she needs, but none of the kits have been born yet."

"I see…" The heavy-set brown tom meowed. His green eyes were thoughtful, his short stub of a tail lashing back and forth. "Eagleheart, I want you to go and talk with the elders. It's obvious to every cat that Crowrasp isn't going to survive this. I expect by nightfall that we will need to perform the burial." He sighed heavily. The warrior dipped his head as he turned to leave.

"Of course, Bearstar." Once Eagleheart had left Bearstar turned his attention back to the black cat laying in front of them. The cat was a dark gray tom, his grizzled muzzle covered in gray and white hairs. The tom's pelt was unkempt and his form was lean and bony, his sides heaving painfully.

The tom-cat moaned and stirred from a state of unconsciousness, his clouded blue eyes flicking open and gazing at the two cats near him.

"Crowrasp!" The black tom beside Bearstar jumped to his paws and made his way to the older male's side in a flash, carefully pushing him back down. "Don't strain yourself. You're in no condition to-" The weak dark gray tom shoved him back with his paw, his eyes wild and matted fur bristling as he forced his way onto his paws.

"Don't _pity_ me! I know I'm dying!" The tom hissed in a coarse voice, like gravel, his eyes wide and fur on end in alarm. His eyes glazed slightly and the cat sunk his claws into the ground, as though to anchor himself to life a few moments more. "Before I go…I must…leave one last thing behind…"

The tom paused as he wheezed breathlessly, and the younger cat looked dismayed by the elder's condition, but kept rooted to his spot.

"Starclan has given me one last task…before I pass on…" Bearstar perked his ears, giving his full attention to him.

"Go on, we're listening." He urged, knowing the old medicine cat didn't have much time left. He waited patiently for a few seconds as Crowrasp's eyes grew distant, as though he wasn't fully there.

"_A graveyard of bones and wild clan blood, the borders will fall and five beneath the stars will become two. A disease rain down death like deep claws. Watch! One of the three steps from the moon and unveils. Four ruled beneath each talon of the Greatest bird. Melts with the final declare, the one once again four…"_ The old tom meowed in a rough and oddly distant voice. The younger black tom and Bearstar exchanged a glance before looking back to Crowrasp.

"What does it all mean?" Bearstar inquired to the elder medicine cat who had lowered his head somewhat. When he didn't answer Bearstar rose to his paws and padded over, nudging him with his paw. "Crowrasp? _Crowrasp_?" As he nudged him the tom slumped to the ground, his eyes glazed over and the light gone from them. The Clan leader took a step back as realization came to him. Crowrasp was dead.

The black tom beside him stepped toward the dead medicine cat shakily and crouched beside him, pressing his head to the old cat's pelt in silent agony. Bearstar closed his eyes for a few seconds to shut out his own pain for the moment before stepping over and touching the black cat's shoulder with his nose.

"I'm sorry, Blackowl." The tom didn't move or say anything and Bearstar left the medicine clearing and Blackowl alone for the moment. Eagleheart was returning with a wobbly mottled brown she-cat and dark blue-gray tom following him.

"Is Crowrasp still in his den?" The mottled she-cat asked as she approached.

"Crowrasp is dead." Bearstar mewed solemnly. The dark blue-gray tom beside her yowled in surprise and hurt.

"No! He can't be dead yet!" Bearstar stayed where he was as the elder pushed past him and disappeared, with the elder she-cat behind him.

"Would you like me to tell Rainpelt?" Eagleheart asked, but Bearstar merely shook his head.

"No, not at the moment. I'm sure she probably already knows anyway." Bearstar sighed, sounding weary. "I'm going to go to the nursery and see how she's handling the kitting." Eagleheart dipped his head in understanding as the large brown tom brushed past. He padded along the logs that were fallen over, leaning against the still living trees, and bounded up a few before coming to a hole in one of the logs at the top, half-covered by another tree and squeezed through with some difficulty.

Inside it was generally dark with a few holes in it casting pools of light all down its length. A brown tabby she-cat yowled loudly, with a few cats around her.

"It's alright, Bramblesnare. Just one more push." A blue-gray she-cat with dark speckles across her whole pelt mewed, a paw placed to the tabby she-cat's round belly. "Do you see it, Earthpaw?"

A brown she-cat was crouched near her haunches, watching intently before nodding.

"The last one's out." She reported, licking the birth-sack from the small brown bundle before picking it up and carefully carrying it to Bramblesnare's stomach, setting it down.

"Two healthy she-cats." The blue-gray cat announced.

"That's good to hear, Rainpelt." Bearstar meowed as he came over to them. Turning to the dark brown tabby he asked, "Have you chosen names for them?" Nodding, Bramblesnare flicked her tail to a more golden tabby with hollow spots.

"This one is Jaguarkit." She said, before her gaze went to the younger brown kit, which was dotted with black flecks all the way down and black bands on her tail. "And this one is Kestrelkit."

"Both strong names." Bearstar purred. "I'm sure they'll make strong warriors one day. Rainpelt?" The Clan leader said no more, motioning with a flick of his tail for her to follow. Pulling her away from the group, he stopped and murmured the news of Crowrasp to her quietly. The medicine cat apprentice's eyes widened and she turned, sprinting out of the nursery and disappearing. Bearstar sighed and hung his head slightly, following after. His thoughts wandered back to the medicine clearing, Crowrasp's prophecy ringing ominously in his head.

_A graveyard of bones and wild clan blood…_

What did it mean? Was his clan to fall and be destroyed? Or was this a threat to all the clans?

'_Starclan help us!'_

**Authors Note(2): **Just so you all know, this starts at around the same time as the beginning of Into the Wild or end to Bluestar's Prophecy(same different lol) ;3 And no, these are not the Clan's from the book. Do not worry, all will be explained in due time! Leave me a **REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: **YEEEeeeeeee Chapter 1! Yay, yay, yay. I get to introduce my characters! As I said, this isn't the same clans from the book and all shall be explained. Actually, it'll be explained n the next chapter. This won't be like…several books long like most of the WARRIORS books or anything. It'll be more like a Super Edition, with one book based on the character etc.(I think). Anyway, onto the story!

**Disclaimer:** WARRIORS of the Forest does not belong to me. It belongs to Erin Hunter XP

**Black Abyss**

**A WARRIORS of the Forest Fanfiction**

**By: Kougetsu_KitsuneHinote_Hakuma**

**Chapter 1**

Newleaf sunshine poked through the trees of the forest and spotted the ground with pools of light. Old logs and fallen trees lay scattered in something of a ring shape around the base of the tree's on the forest floor, creating something of a clearing.

"Attack!" Kestrelkit squealed, leaping onto her golden-brown and spotted sister, Jaguarkit, bowling her over. The two she-cats had grown quickly since they were born some six or so moons ago, and with Dovesong, Bengalband, and Rubyeye all nursing kits now, the nursery had grown incredibly crowded. Dovesong's kit was only two moons younger then them, and Bengalband's kits weren't far behind that. With Rubyeye's new litter, the cramped space was becoming unbearable.

Kestrelkit battered Jaguarkit with her hind paws, claws sheathed and wrestled against her, tumbling around and around on the ground. Jaguarkit came out on top and pinned her smaller sister down, her eyes gleaming triumphantly.

"Give up, PlagueClan filth!" Jaguarkit meowed, her tail lashing playfully.

"Hey, I thought it was _your_ turn to play PlagueClan?" Kestrelkit protested.

"I bested _you_ so I say you're PlagueClan and I'm beating you." Jaguarkit retorted. "Now, do you give up, PlagueClan?" Jaguarkit challenged, taking on a larger voice. Kestrelkit growled, getting ready to throw her off.

"Never!" She screeched and used all four legs to fling her sister off and pounced on her. Jaguarkit sprang away and up the logs, followed closely by Kestrelkit as the two blundered over the top of the logs.

"_Hey_!" A large dark blue-gray tom meowed. "Stop disturbing everyone's sleep!" The old cat mumbled something incoherent under his breath and curled back up to go back to sleep grumpily.

Jaguarkit dove into one of the holes in the log where the nursery was, sprinting back to the queen's nests.

"CanopyClan, attack the PlagueClan intruder!" Jaguarkit cried, leaping over a pair of queens. A trio of kits, one gaunt and golden-cream in color, one overly fluffy and black, and the third light ginger in color with white splashes, scrambled up and pounced toward Kestrelkit, bowling her over and swatting at her with sheathed claws.

"Oof!"

"Attack the PlagueClan intruder!" The light ginger she-cat, Coldkit squealed. Kestrelkit wrestled back, allowing the three smaller kits to win before meowed, "I give up! I give up!" Two of them jumped off as Kestrelkit sat up, before she turned her attention to the third, black kit, feeling the slight prick of claws.

"You can let go now, Roadkit. I lost, you won." Kestrelkit assured. Roadkit looked somewhat disappointed but let go anyway.

"Can we play _another_ game?" Roadkit asked, her tawny golden eyes gleaming.

"I think that's enough games for today." Another meow sounded from behind Kestrelkit. She turned around to see a brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes. "Ravenfeather was complaining you woke him from his dozing a moment ago." She scolded.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be kept busy enough when they get become apprentices that Ravenfeather won't have to worry about them." Bengalband, an orange tabby she-cat assured. "These three however…" She said, eyeing her three, Wildkit, the guant yellow-cream kit, Roadkit, and Coldkit.

"But I thought we were your perfect little angels!" Roadkit protested, bounding to her mother and pouncing on her side.

"Perhaps, but Ravenfeather might not see things the same way." Bengalband reminded.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Woodspire for a clan meeting!" Bearstar's mew rang out. Kestrelkit and Jaguarkit brightened and scrambled up, darting out of the entrance as quickly as their paws would carry them.

"Wait!" Bramblesnare yowled, racing after them. The two kits stopped as they heard their mother and she squeezed out after them. "Look at you! You're a mess!" She fretted, running her tongue furiously over them to clean their pelts and pluck out plant debris. Kestrelkit could barely hold still and darted to the gathering group ahead of Jaguarkit.

"I'm clean enough!" Kestrelkit meowed as she made her way over, with Jaguarkit close at her heels. They squeezed their way to the front, sitting down and looking up with eyes gleaming excitedly.

"I'm happy to announce two of our Clan's kits are finally old enough to move from the nursery to the apprentices den." Bearstar meowed, the large brown tom studying the two she-cats sitting at the front. His whiskers twitched in amusement at their excited gazes.

"Kestrelkit, from this day forward, you will be known as Kestrelpaw. Eagleheart." Bearstar called. The brown and white tom stepped forward and dipped his head. "I think it is time you were given another apprentice. Pass on your strength and wisdom to this young apprentice, to become a fine warrior of CanopyClan." With this Bearstar turned his attention to Jaguarkit.

"From this day forward, you will be known as Jaguarpaw. Wispflash, you will mentor her. Teach her how to fight well and pass on your loyalty and cunning." The blue-gray Siamese nodded in acceptance as Bearstar turned down the jutting log hanging over the clearing and the group dispersed.

Kestrelpaw fidgeted in excitement. She was going to be mentored by the Clan's deputy! Just a moon or two after she and Jaguarpaw were born, Blackowl had retired to the Elder's den and Eagleheart had been chosen to take his place. Long season's serving the Clan and the death of his kin, Crowrasp, had made the old tom weary over the last couple of moons and he had joined his father, Ravenfeather and the elder she-cat, Leafrustle.

"How about we start with a bit of hunting training?" Eagleheart suggested, snapping Kestrelpaw out of her thoughts. She immediately jumped up, eager to explore the Clan's territory and catch her first prey.

"Let's get going!" She squeaked. Eagleheart's whiskers twitched in amusement but she barely noticed, plucking the ground with her claws. Leading the way, Eagleheart took them over the logs and scrabbled down on the other side. Kestrelpaw had peered over the sides of the camp's walls many times but it was a good distance down, and she'd never once even tried to go down it.

She hesitated only a moment before scrabbling down after him. Her landing was far from graceful but she managed it. She shook herself off in time for Jaguarpaw to crash down on top of her, sending them both sprawling.

_Oof!_ Kestrelpaw rolled over and battered her sister off with her hind paws.

"Watch where you're going, clumsy mouse-brain!" Kestrelpaw hissed, getting up and shaking herself off.

"Quiet." Wispflash meowed. "You'll scare off the prey like that." Both of the warriors started ahead, Kestrelpaw and Jaguarpaw following close behind till Eagleheart stopped and turned to face the pair of apprentices.

"The first thing we'll teach you to hunt is mouse. A rabbit will hear you before it see's you, however a mouse will feel you before it hears you." He advised. "Now, show me your best hunting crouch."

Kestrelpaw lowered herself to the ground, positioning her paws neatly under her, before looking to see Eagleheart's approving gaze.

"Whitepaw and Graypaw showed me how to do it before." She said as means of explaination.

"I see they taught you well. But lift your tail slightly more, or it'll brush the leaves and alert the mouse to your presence. Yes, just like that!" Eagleheart instructed, the young apprentice doing as he said.

"Now let's see yours, Jaguarpaw" Wispflash mewed. As Jaguarpaw positioned herself Wispflash shook her head. "Tuck in your paws and haunches a bit more. You'll end up brushing bushes and things like that." Jaguarpaw did as she was told, Wispflash instructing her on minor adjustments. After a short practice, the two mentor's told them to use it to catch a mouse, so, splitting up, they kept alert for prey.

Kestrelpaw perked her ears for any tell-tale signs before a rustling in the leaves alerted her to a small animal. Dropping into a crouch, she scented the air.

_Mouse._ She noted. She remembered the smell from the dead mice left on the fresh-kill pile. This one, however, smelled warm and alive. After a few moments, a mouse poked its head up, nibbling on a seed and keeping alert for any signs of danger. Kestrelpaw had to force herself to remain still, anticipation nagging at her conscious.

When the mouse disappeared, scavenging among the leaves again, she pulled herself forward, one paw at a time, very carefully and very slowly.

_I _can't _screw this up!_ When she was close enough, she pounced, landing on top of it as it just noticed and tried to dart away, ending its life swiftly.

"Very good." Eagleheart praised, emerging from the bracken. Kestrelpaw looked over with the mouse dangling from her jaws, feeling giddy with pride. Wispflash and Jaguarpaw emerged close behind, a spark of jealousy in Jaguarpaw's eyes as she spotted her sister.

"Lucky! Mine got away…"

"I _told_ you to tuck your paws and haunches in, but did you listen?" Wispflash mreowed, Jaguarpaw scuffing her paws on the leaves.

"Besides that, let us show you the territory. We can practice hunting as we go." Eagleheart suggested, taking the lead. "Bury that piece of fresh-kill for now. We'll come back for it." Kestrelpaw nodded and buried it under the roots of a tree. She just hoped she wouldn't forget where it was…

Following after, Kestrelpaw walked beside her sister, who was still sulking, and nudged her with her shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get the next one." She encouraged.

"Yeah, maybe…" Jaguarpaw mewed, but she sounded uncertain.

"I wonder who Bearstar is going to choose to go to the Gathering?" Wispflash wondered aloud. Kestrelpaw and Jaguarpaw both perked.

The Gathering! She'd forgotten how close it was. Would she be able to go? Or what about Jaguarpaw?

"It's a mystery to me so far." Eagleheart responded, shrugging his shoulders. "I doubt Ravenfeather will be attending anymore though." He added. The elder tom hadn't gone to the last two because he hadn't felt up to the journey, and he hadn't improved any since. Being Crowrasp's brother, most were sure it wouldn't be long before he joined his littermate in StarClan.

Leading the way once more, Eagleheart took them through the light undergrowth. Kestrelpaw noticed that there was little to no undergrowth here, with only a few bushes and such that actually managed to grow bigger than a cat. Finally the trees broke away into a grassy clearing, and she could faintly make out the sound of flowing water beyond it.

"This is the Training Glade. This is where we, along with all the other cats, come to train and hone their fighting skills." Eagleheart meowed. Kestrelpaw nodded to show she'd heard him as she spotted Lynxfoot and Whitepaw.

Lynxfoot was a large sand colored tom with unusually large paws and a stub of a tail. Whitepaw was light silver, almost white, with a bushy pure white mane of fur. At least it normally was but it looked dirtier now that it was covered in a thin coat of dust and tinged with faint green grass-stains, which he paused a moment to try and lick off, much to Kestrelpaw's amusement.

"Can we start training with battle moves?" Jaguarpaw asked excitedly.

"Not right now, we still have the rest of CanopyClan to see." Wispflash meowed tersely. "Besides, Whitepaw has several more moons of training than you, and you hardly know the basics." She reminded. Kestrelpaw watched as the large apprentice practiced an advanced move on Lynxfoot. She, along with everyone else, knew that he was an excellent fighter, and he had both strength and size like a CliffClan cat, but was agile and fast like the others in CanopyClan. A rare strength that Kestrelpaw was decidedly jealous of.

"Come on." Eagleheart said, snapping Kestrelpaw out of her thoughts as he started away again along the edge of the Training Glade. Leading the way, he took them to the edge of a shallow stream bed, splashing through. Kestrelpaw hesitated before strengthening her resolve, jumping in after him and Wispflash, with Jaguarpaw right behind. To her surprise the water only reached deep enough for her to have to walk tippy-toed close to the center. Only a couple of tail lengths were deep enough that she had to actually swim, and the current was slow, almost non-existant.

She still hated it though and shook her pelt off with disgust as she reached the shore. Jaguarpaw seemed less disgusted and more just like a drowned rat.

"What are _you_ looking at?" Jaguarpaw hissed as Kestrelpaw's whiskers twitched in amusement.

"Oh, nothing." Kestrelpaw shrugged innocently, following Eagleheart and Wispflash. Kestrelpaw twitched her nose in disgust as an acrid stench reached her senses. "What's _that_?" She meowed.

"The Thunderpath. It's a hard black path made by the Two-legs for their monsters to follow." Eagleheart explained. Kestrelpaw shivered from ear to tail-tip. Every cat heard horror stories of monsters and what they did to cats unfortunate enough to be caught by one.

"It's nothing like the old Thunderpath though." Wispflash added.

"Old Thunderpath?" Jaguarpaw repeated.

"There was another Thunderpath that was countless monsters wide and always busy, with monsters roaring up and down it all the time, every time of day. It was near suicide to even _try_ and cross it." Wispflash meowed. "At least that's what I've been told. I've never seen it myself." As Wispflash finished the tree's thinned and a black pathway appeared in front of them that was several fox-lengths long.

Nervously, Kestrelpaw turned her gaze down the long stretch of black, perking her ears and listening for any sign of a Two-leg monster.

"It's okay. Monsters rarely come down this path all that often." Eagle heart assured. "And when they do, you can hear them from halfway near ValleyClan." Kestrelpaw was still for a moment before tentatively stepping out, placing a paw onto it. The black stone was really warm on her paw pads but it stunk like nothing she'd ever smelled before. Even when one of the apprentices came to camp smelling of skunk it wasn't as bad as this smell.

Wrinkling her nose in disgust, she sniffed and turned back to her comrades.

"Just beyond that fence on the other side is a pack of wild dogs." Eagleheart spoke. "Any time you're near here, be careful. It isn't often that one stray's over here, but you don't want to be its victim on the occasion that one does." He warned before leading the way along the Thunderpath until the tree-line ended.

The four cats came to a grassy field with tall, golden grass covered in old log piles and tree stumps. Turning her head, she noticed they were on the opposite side of the half-stream, with the Training Glade on the other side. Lynxfoot and Whitepaw were still training on the other side, though farther away.

"This is the logyard." Wispflash explained. "And over there…" She said, pointing with her tail to long, shiny boxes just beyond it. "That's the Two-leg place. They cut down the trees here for whatever reason. Sometimes their kits go as far as the Training Glade, but generally they leave us alone so long as we leave them alone. Beyond the Two-leg place is _their_ territory. They don't patrol their borders very often because they know no other clan wants their territory." Kestrelpaw suppressed a shudder. She didn't need to know who 'they' were to know who Wispflash was talking about. "Just beyond their territory is ValleyClan, and MarshClan beyond them. We don't need to worry though, because we don't share borders with them."

"What about the Moon Cats?" Kestrelpaw inquired.

"You mean the Covenant of the Moon?" Wispflash corrected. "We're far enough away that they hardly ever bother us. Their mostly CliffClan and ValleyClan's problem."

"And don't expect you'll see them at the Gathering either. They don't believe in StarClan or the Warrior Code like we do." Eagleheart added.

"But how can they _not_?" Jaguarpaw meowed skeptically. "StarClan and the Warrior Code are _everything_!"

"They aren't a Clan like us or the others. They have a different belief system than us." Eagleheart explained calmly as they skirted a small lake.

"You mean their heathenous brutes." Wispflash snorted.

"There's nothing wrong with different beliefs." Eagleheart challenged coolly.

"_They_ have different beliefs too, and look what it's done!" Wispflash hissed. Ignoring her outburst, Eagleheart stopped in front of a large wad of sticks and branches like nothing Kestrelpaw had ever seen.

"This is the Beaverhome. It blocks the flow of the water which is what makes the halfstream so shallow. It's also what created the small lake in our territory." Eagleheart explained.

"_And_ it makes a good bridge for when the beavers aren't around." Wispflash added, padding across awkwardly. Kestrelpaw exchanged a glance with her sister before the two followed, with Eagleheart just behind them. Making their way across and back into the trees, they followed the lake edge all the way to the other side where another streambed lay, which had just enough water resting in the bottom to reach the top of Kestrelpaw's paws.

"This is the drybed. Most of the year its got little to no water, like now. At the end of leaf-bare and the very beginning of newleaf, snowmelt washes down through here to Beaverhome." Eagleheart perked his ears as he heard scuffling among the rocks and dropped into a hunters crouch, pulling himself forward with many seasons of practice. He froze as a hare appeared cautiously, its eyes watching carefully for any threats before carefully hopping closer to the stream bed, lapping up water.

"Don't move a mouse-length." Wispflash whispered to the two apprentices as they eyed Eagleheart and the rabbit. The sound of a bird crying in the distance took the rabbits attention away, turning its head opposite of Eagleheart so he could creep forward silently. After a few seconds the rabbit turned back and Eagleheart froze, waiting still as a statue with great patience. It took a few more moments to drink before hopping back toward the forest. As it went just out of sight toward the top of the bank, Eagleheart quickly moved forward and stopped, peering around the corner of the bank.

After a moment, he sprang around the corner and disappeared. Kestrelpaw perked her ears curiously while Jaguarpaw took a step forward. A moment later Eagleheart came back with the rabbit dangling from his jaws.

"Nice catch!" Wispflash admired.

"All it takes is patience." Eagleheart meowed, looking to the two apprentices whose eyes were gleaming in admiration. "Come on, we're almost to the Stone Pawsteps." He instructed, dragging his rabbit along. Once they came out of the streambed, Eagleheart buried his rabbit and led them along the shadow of the cliff above until they came to an abrupt rocky path that sloped upward with ledges and dips, almost like stairs.

"These are the Stone Pawsteps, they-"

"We know!" Jaguarpaw interrupted, bounding ahead. "We came here in leaf-bare when the snow thinned!" She meowed, Kestrelpaw hard on her tail.

"And the heatpools are just beyond!" She added. As they came over the rise, pools of water in the rock appeared, steam bubbling off the top of them. The cats of her clan shared them with CliffClan during the harsh months of leaf-bare to come and warm themselves up. Skirting around the pools with her whiskers twitching, Kestrelpaw picked up CliffClan scent almost immediately, looking up toward the pools closer to CliffClan. A tan tom was regarding them through green eyes while a black she-cat with white-tipped ears didn't notice immediately, her eyes closed and paws tucked under her. Kestrelpaw wondered if she was asleep until the tom murmured something to her and her gaze swept to them as well.

"Well if it isn't Eagleheart and Wispflash." The she-cat greeted. "It's still our watch, you know." She said, sitting up and running her tongue along her flank. "Who are those two?" She asked, fixing her gaze on them.

"Our new apprentices. Kestrelpaw and Jaguarpaw." He introduced, flicking his tail to each of them in turn.

"Those are Bramblesnare's kits, aren't they?" The tan tom asked. Eagleheart nodded before turning to Kestrelpaw and Jaguarpaw.

"That tan tom there is Highstep, and the black she-cat is Rockshadow."

"I remember you two from a couple moons ago, when you came to the heatpools with Bramblesnare. You probably don't remember me, though." He added. Kestrelpaw thought a moment while Jaguarpaw immediately shook her head. "I didn't think so." Highstep mused with a twitch of his whiskers. "So you're showing these two around your territory?" Eagleheart merely nodded.

"Just remember if you go any further than the heatpools we're to treat you as invading enemies." Rockshadow warned the two apprentices. "The territory truce only lasts here."

"We know." Kestrelpaw assured as Eagleheart turned to lead them away. Following after her Clanmates, the she-cat was relieved to have soft dirt and grass under her paws again.

"How can they stand _living_ on that hard ground all the time? Their paws must ache _all_ the time!" She meowed.

"I suppose their just conditioned to it." Jaguarpaw figured. "But it's so open. I don't think I could ever live without the trees above my head."

"Do you remember this place?" Eagleheart asked as they padded through thicker pine forest.

"The Thickpines!" Jaguarpaw answered pridefully. "We passed them on the way to the heatpools in leaf-bare."

"That's right." Wispflash congratulated. Kestrelpaw noticed that, different from most of the rest of the forest, the trees completely blocked out most light except a few patches where light beamed down onto the path. The bushes and plants in the under story grew thick and close together, making it impossible to go anywhere except the path itself. The narrow space and closed off walls made her feel trapped and claustrophobic, itching to get back out to the open forest.

When they finally saw a break in the trees, Kestrelpaw squeezed past the others and bounded ahead, relieved as the tree's opened back up and large patches of sunlight broke through the tall oaks and other deciduous trees.

Eagleheart veered back toward the drybed to retrieve his rabbit before they headed back towards camp. On the way Kestrelpaw caught a second mouse, Wispflash had caught a thrush, and Jaguarpaw a young squirrel, fresh from the nest.

As they returned to camp, Kestrelpaw leapt up the wall and clawed her way over the top with some difficulty, before shaking herself off at the top. Following her companions, the last patrol was preparing to leave.

"Looks like the hunting is good." Birdfeather, a brown tom with a white belly and paws commented.

"There's definitely plenty of prey so far. We'll probably be well fed this year."

"I hope so." Monkeyleap, a long-legged brown tom sniffed. "With how harsh leaf-bare was this year, I want to eat until I burst!" He said good-humoredly.

"Come on, we can talk when we return from patrol." A black and white tabby she-cat, Zebrapelt, ordered, taking the lead. Kestrelpaw noticed Gullpaw following them as well as the patrol disappeared over the camp wall.

Heading for the fresh-kill pile, Eagleheart stopped as Lynxfoot was padding past.

"Is Bearstar in camp?"

"No. I think he took a hunting patrol out to the Thunderpath border just a little while ago. Squirrelstep, Redsplash, and Bramblesnare went with him." He replied.

"Alright." At this point he turned to Kestrelpaw and Jaguarpaw. "You two eat something then go and rest. I'm going to take this rabbit to the Elders den." He stated before turned away. Kestrelpaw merely took one of the mice she'd caught and headed for the apprentices den. Jaguarpaw took a vole and followed her.

Upon entering she noticed Whitepaw grooming his pelt, looking up as they entered, while Graypaw was eating a blackbird.

"So Eagleheart and Wispflash showed you the territory today?" Whitepaw asked.

"Yeah." Kestrelpaw answered simply.

"I saw you watching me earlier when you passed through the Training Glade." He explained. "And when you went through the Logyard." Kestrelpaw's pelt prickled slightly with embarrassment.

"I wish _I'd_ gotten to train in fighting moves today." Jaguarpaw complained as she settled over her vole. "CanopyClan sure has a lot of territory. My paws are sore already, and this was just the first day!"

"Be glad it isn't ValleyClan's territory." Whitepaw meowed. "Their territory is _huge_!"

"How would you know? ValleyClan's way over by the HighWatch." Kestrelpaw asked curiously.

"When you go to the Gathering, if you go to the top you can see all the way across it!" Whitepaw exclaimed.

"Yeah, but he also got in trouble for being up there." Graypaw added with a twitch of his whiskers.

"How was _I _supposed to know only leaders were aloud up there?" Whitepaw protested.

"It was his our first gathering." Graypaw explained with a twitch of his whiskers.

_I hope I don't do anything to get myself in trouble at _my _first Gathering!_ Kestrelpaw thought silently as she scarfed down her mouse. When she had finished, she licked her lips clean. _'I hope I get to go to the next one! My first Gathering!_ She thought excitedly. After finishing her mouse and giving her pelt a quick grooming, Whitepaw showed her where their nests were and the young apprentice curled up, exhaustion immediately plunging her into sleep.

**Authors Note:** Please **REVIIEEEWW! Anonymous reviews are accepted!** Till next time!

~Kou


	3. Chapter 2

**Authors Note:** Not much to say...except that I'm REAAALLY busy atm and don't really have that much time to work on fanfic's and Black Abyss isn't high on my list of priorities...but I got this chapter out for you guys anyway! And I'm working on my own original book that I'm hoping to publish by the end of the school year :3

Special Thanks to _Firefrost and Flamepelt_ and _Allen_the_Musician _for their reviews!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Warriors, Erin Hunter does...

I'm too lazy to make it funny xD

* * *

**Black Abyss  
****A WARRIORS of the Forest Fanfiction  
****By: Kougetsu_KitsuneHinote_Hakuma**

**Chapter 2**

* * *

"Alright, let's try again." A solid brown tom with long legs mewed. "Just as I showed you, but I'll be the attacking enemy this time, and you'll be the defender. Okay…_now_!" Kestrelpaw watched as Gullpaw turned tail and bolted away from his mentor, Monkeyleap, and vaulted up onto the trunk of a tall tree, digging his claws into the wood. Twisting back around in place swiftly, he launched back down and landed right on top with claws sheathed, bringing all four paws down onto the tom heavily so his weight knocked him off balance.

As Monkeyleap collapsed under him, he rolled off and sprang back to his paws, leaping forward again and batting his mentor over the head.

"Very good!" Monkeyleap praised. "I think you're even better than Whitepaw." Gullpaw practically glowed with pride at that comment. His brother Whitepaw was the best apprentice out of all the others at the moment despite that he was bulkier than most CanopyClan cats.

"Lucky furball…" Kestrelpaw muttered, wishing that she could've done something amazing to get praised like that.

"Don't worry about it so much. You'll eventually learn skills that someone else can't match. Each cat in the Clan has something to offer." Eagleheart assured. "Now, I'll show you a different move."

"Why can't I learn what Gullpaw is learning?" Kestrelpaw asked hopefully, thinking that maybe he'd teach her that if she made some kind of deal over it.

"Because that's a more advanced skill and you need to learn the basics first." Eagleheart said in a slightly reprimanding tone, though his whiskers twitched in amusement. "Besides, that move is rarely all that useful. I'll teach you a simpler, _better_ move."

"Fine…" Kestrelpaw relented, albeit a little reluctantly, standing up.

"Now, this move is called the Leg Tangle. The key to this move is that you have to move low and dodge your opponent's attacks and while batting your front legs in between theirs and out quickly. To our enemies, it looks like we're haphazardly throwing our front legs around, but there is purpose to our movements, and we try and trip them up from all different directions since if we always went after the same spot, they'd catch on and just dodge the blows." Kestrelpaw nodded her head as he explained, a bit bored by the explanation but otherwise gazing at him keenly, trying to be patient. "Like this…" Eagleheart demonstrated, moving his paw more slowly than if he was actually fighting and hooking her leg, pulling it outward so it threw off her balance, though she caught herself. Again, because he wasn't doing it seriously.

"I think I get it…" Kestrelpaw said, gaze calculating.

"Good. Now let's practice. For now we'll focus on trying to get close without getting hit. Obviously I'll be acting as the enemy warrior." He said, standing up and moving a few paces back. Kestrelpaw merely nodded and ducked down, calculation in her eyes while her tail idly moved back and forth through the leaf litter.

"If you took this long to attack an enemy warrior, your pelt would already be shredded into kit bedding." Eagleheart mused with an amused twitch of his whiskers. Growling slightly in annoyance, Kestrelpaw leapt forward and dove for his legs but was batted in the face and stumbled back, a little dazed and surprised. "…and you would've just lost your nose." Eagleheart added. This only added to her annoyance and she crouched again, tail wiggling as she briefly paused to think and then dove forward again. This time she was ready for his blow and leapt just slightly to one side under his paw and batted his leg but didn't manage to throw him off balance, getting batted away again.

"Not bad for a second try, but you're being a bit reckless…and slow to attack. Even less than a second can mean a huge difference in a real fight." Eagleheart advised.

"Yeah, but charging in without thinking is stupid!" Kestrelpaw retorted indignantly.

"True, but sometimes there's no time to stop and think. You have to be able to use your wits as well as learn to react automatically when a situation calls for it." Eagleheart pointed out. "Now, let's try again."

Kestrelpaw dove forward and ducked her Eagleheart's paws as he batted at her, hooking one leg while the other was still in the air and knocking the senior warrior onto his side.

"_Oof!_ Not bad…" He chuckled, getting up and shaking himself off a moment.

"_Ow_!" Gullpaw yelped, falling off the tree-trunk after trying to practice the same move he had been for a while, effectively drawing Kestrelpaw's attention away from Eagleheart.

"Let me see it." Monkeyleap instructed, gazing at his paw. "I think you wrenched your claw…I told you that would happen if you kept at it." He mildly chastised.

"I think that's enough practice for all of us today." Eagleheart decided. "You've both been working hard." Monkeyleap nodded his agreement before looking to his apprentice.

"Come on, let's have Rainpelt take a look at that." He instructed, flicking his tail for Gullpaw to limp after him.

"I think we'll go hunting," Eagleheart announced. "The birds seem to be about in huge abundance today…so I'll teach you a little more about hunting them." He said, leading the way away from the Training Glade. Following along, Kestrelpaw felt rather good about their training session, despite having gotten frustrated over it more often than not. Even though it was a simpler move, it was a lot harder to pull off than she'd thought it would be and Eagleheart seemed to think she was making good progress.

Leading the way through the thin undergrowth, it wasn't long before they came across a small group of birds foraging in the foliage, ducking down so as not to be seen.

"When there's a large group of birds, sometimes you can startle them into the air and just leap up and snatch one out of the flock." Eagleheart murmured. "Watch." Creeping forward, he waited until he was a little closer before exploding out of the bushes and sending the whole flock soaring skyward. Heaving himself into the air, he dove straight through the group and snagged his claws on one, bringing it down and quickly killing. Kestrelpaw watched in awe before trotting up to him.

"You think I could do that?"

"Of course." Eagleheart said, burying his prey to come back for later. "Let's find another spot where the birds aren't all scared away and you can try there." He said, leading the way through the sparse undergrowth until they'd found another group pecking at the ground. "Now, just as I showed you…" He instructed. Keeping herself low, she crawled forward carefully until she was close before leaping out, the group fluttering skyward. She leapt up like she had seen Eagleheart do and tried to snag one in her claws but came up short, tail-tip flicking in frustration.

"Tough luck…you'll probably catch one next time th-" Before he had finished, she bolted forward at a full sprint and leapt up against a tree-trunk, using it to gain height and shoved off it into the air, clawing wildly until she snagged a wing and dragged the avian down to earth, landing on her back as she did so before flipping back onto her stomach and pouncing on the wildly flailing bird, quickly killing it with a bite to the neck.

"Well done!" Eagleheart praised. "That was a good catch, and thinking to use the tree like that." Kestrelpaw felt hot with embarrassment and lowered her head slightly.

"It was mostly a spur of the moment thing…I doubt I could do it again very easily…" She said a bit sheepishly.

"If you can do something once like that, you can probably do it again." Eagleheart mewed thoughtfully. "Bramblesnare will be glad to hear how good you're getting already."

"I guess…" Kestrelpaw murmured, feeling a little self-conscious.

_And Jaguarpaw will make a fuss over it!_ She added silently. Her sister could be rather jealous sometimes, after all.

"Come on, let's head back to camp. There's going to be a gathering tonight so it would be a good idea to rest up before going…just in case you get chosen to go." Eagleheart said, leading the way. Kestrelpaw perked up and dragged her bird along.

_The Gathering! I almost forgot!_

* * *

Kestrelpaw padded to the Elder's den with a bundle of fresh moss in her jaws, a spring to her step. Despite that it was an unlikeable chore, she delighted in some of the stories that the elders had to tell. Entering the enclosed space, she could see one large bundle of faded black fur curled up at the back while a mottled brown she-cat licked the ears of a black tom. The female was Leafrustle, her grandmother, while the black tom was the former deputy, Blackowl and his father, Ravenfeather at the back.

Aside from being the biggest cat in any of the clans, being rather enormous, he was also one of the oldest to ever live in a Clan. Even when the others were sure that he'd die one season or another, he always somehow made it through and survived longer than any other cat had previously.

"Hello, Kestrelpaw." Leafrustle greeted. "I heard you snatched a bird right out of the air today like some warriors can't even do!" The elder praised, making her pelt prickle again in slight embarrassment.

"Um…yeah…" She mewed.

"I'd bet you had some kind of SkyClan blood in you if I didn't know better, from what I heard." She purred, whiskers twitching.

"SkyClan?" Kestrelpaw tilted her head.

"Yes…back in the old Clans…" Leafrustle recalled. "I wasn't born yet myself…but there were once five Clans in the old forest, if you didn't count StarClan of course. ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan, ShadowClan, and SkyClan…but SkyClan's territory was destroyed by two-legs, you see, and the other Clans were unwilling to share any of their territory, so they were driven out. No one protested, and StarClan didn't stop it from happening…but afterwards, some cats thought that it had been unfair, and wasn't right, so they tried to organize a group to go after SkyClan with the leaders, several cats from each Clan. Of course…the leaders would have nothing of it and they were all denied." Leafrustle recounted while Blackowl shifted slightly in his sleep.

"So, the cats that didn't agree with it formed a group to try and force the leaders to go with it, and announced it at one of the gatherings. They rebelled against their own Clans together, and caused a fight. By then, the Clan's drove them out for being traitors, and after moons of travel, they found the forest we call home now."

"Sounds sort of harsh…" Kestrelpaw mewed as she cleared out the old bedding for new.

"Yes, well…I can't rightly vouch for either side or what they did…I wasn't there myself, but we have our own Clans here now. I can't ever see myself living anywhere else but here among CanopyClan."

"I honestly can't either…" Kestrelpaw admitted.

"We belong to a very special Clan as well…while the other clans sleep safely in dens in the earth, we live high in the trees, close to our warrior ancestors. I would never even _consider_ being part of a different clan. One thing is true, Canopystar had the right mind to think of sleeping close to our warrior ancestors, and the trees serve as good protection to boot. I'd like to see a cat from any other clan climb trees as well as any CanopyClan cat!" Kestrelpaw's whiskers twitched in amusement, even as she bundled up the old moss to carry out. "Oh, and can you be so kind as to fetch mouse bile for Ravenfeather? He's starting to get a nasty tick behind his ear that just _refuses_ to come off!"

Kestrelpaw nodded as she left, thinking over what Leafrustle had said. If she ever was given the choice, would she even consider going to another Clan? Unlike in the old forest, from what she heard, the Clans hear weren't as strict or didn't look down on such things as much, or cross-Clan relations. In fact it was partially common. Even so, she probably would never leave CanopyClan for another, of that she was almost certain.

* * *

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here for a Clan meeting!" Bearstar called. Kestrelpaw yawned and stretched one leg behind her as she exited the apprentices den after Jaguarpaw, the Clan gathering beneath the leader's position expectantly. The moon was starting to ride toward its zenith and it was almost time to go to the gathering.

"I hope I'll be chosen…" Jaguarpaw murmured as they sat down amongst their Clanmates.

"I hope so too." Kestrelpaw replied.

"The cats to go to the gathering besides Eagleheart and Rainpelt are Zebrapelt, Brightsun, Cometstorm, Redsplash, Earthfur, Bramblesnare, Whitepaw, Graypaw, Kestrelpaw, Leafrustle, and Blackowl." Bearstar announced before leaping down.

"_Darn_!" Jaguarpaw hissed under her breath. "Lucky…"

"You'll get picked next time, I'm sure…" Kestrelpelt mewed sympathetically.

"You should eat something before we go," Brightsun, a cream colored tom mewed, flicking her tail over Kestrelpaw's ear. "Otherwise your belly will be growling like an angry badger." He said, a playful tone to his voice.

"Um…right." Kestrelpaw murmured, hopping up and heading to the fresh-kill pile. She picked a young mouse from the top of the pile and settled down amongst Brightsun, Whitepaw, and Bramblesnare.

"I heard you snatched a bird straight out of the air today," Bramblesnare meowed with approval, gazing at her daughter affectionately.

_Geez, does _everyone_ in the Clan know about that?_ Kestrelpaw thought, pelt prickling with embarrassment.

"Um, yeah…it wasn't that big a deal though…" She said modestly, taking a bite out of her mouse, partially because she didn't want to answer any more questions or anything as much as wanting to eat.

"Not a big deal!" Brightsun breathed. "I couldn't even do that until after I became a warrior! I must say, I'm jealous of your talent, Kestrelpaw…"

"Oh, stop trying to make her uncomfortable." Bramblesnare scolded mildly, tail-tip flicking slightly.

"But it is pretty impressive," Whitepaw commented as he licked one paw and swiped it over his ear. Kestrelpaw felt a new rush of embarrassment and lowered her head slightly as it ate, hoping that maybe she could hide it.

"You just say that because you're too big to get that lump of a butt in the air!" Gullpaw purred as he approached, giving his brother a shove despite his limp from injuring his leg earlier in training.

"Says the one who hurt himself in training today," Whitepaw retorted with easy calm, Gullpaw sniffing indignantly.

"Hurry up and finish eating," Bramblesnare mewed, rising to her paws. "The Gathering party is about to leave." Having already finished eating, Kestrelpaw got to her paws and followed her mother there. Once all the cats were gathered, Bearstar left promptly over the edge of the camp walls, leaping down nimbly on the other side. The run was easy as they crossed their territory and the stream through PlagueClan's territory, seeing and scenting not a hair or shadow of the cats.

Before long, the HighWatch came into view, a huge mound of rock between CliffClan, ValleyClan, and PlagueClan's territory. A part of it rose up into part of a cliff, overshadowing the rest of the HighWatch. They slowed as they approached, trotting through the dry grass below it.

"Now remember, don't say anything that gives away troubles or anything within your own Clan. The truce only lasts for a short while, the other Clan's aren't truly our friends." Bramblesnare warned.

"I know, Eagleheart already gave me that lecture," Kestrelpaw sniffed, bounding a little faster, though recalling that she couldn't pass Bearstar before they reached the Gathering grounds. The last part she had to heave herself up the rock, her claws straining for a hold. When she finally reached the top, she paused and gazed around. She could make out the scents of CliffClan and ValleyClan, but looking around at how few cats there seemed to be, quirked her head to one side.

"Is this really all that came to the Gathering?"

"MarshClan has yet to arrive, and its uncertain whether or not PlagueClan will come." Eagleheart said, stopping next to her.

"So where's the rest of their warriors?" Kestrelpaw mewed.

"CanopyClan is the largest clan in our territories, but that doesn't mean the others are any weaker. Our territory provides some of the best protection compared to other Clans, so we often lose less cats. ValleyClan are undoubtedly the fastest cats on open ground though, while CliffClan are the most hardy. MarshClan are resilient against things like water and the weather. PlagueClan is a bit different though…they're large and tricky, but likely we won't see them much at the Gatherings. We're best known for being agile amongst the Clans."

"But no territory is better than our own," a black and white she-cat mewed as she headed toward them, a white she-cat with orange spots and tail following.

"Echocry, Amberfang…" Eagleheart greeted, dipping his head. "Kestrelpaw, these two are the deputies of CliffClan and ValleyClan."

"I've heard about you," the white cat with orange mewed. "You're Eagleheart's apprentice."

"I am," Kestrelpaw confirmed, dipping her head slightly.

"We were just headed to the foot of the HighWatch. Coming, Eagleheart?" The black and white she-cat mewed, starting away.

"Yes, yes, coming." He said, gazing at Kestrelpaw momentarily. "You should go meet cats from other Clan's, get to know who's who, and remember what I told you." He said before heading off with the other two deputies. Shaking herself off, she stood up and gazed around, idly wandering. She'd just go to whoever she saw first…and it just so happened to be a group of apprentices and a large brown tabby warrior.

"Hello," Kestrelpaw greeted, forcing herself to be polite. She could tell the warrior and three of the apprentices were CliffClan, and one apprentice was ValleyClan.

"What do you want, CanopyClan kit?" The large brown tabby tom growled, all but baring his fangs. "Can't you see we're busy?"

"I'm not a kit!" Kestrelpaw retorted, flattening her ears as her temper rose. "I happen to be an apprentice!"

"My apologies," the tom warrior sneered, though he was obviously far from it. "I didn't know CanopyClan apprentices were so puny." Kestrelpaw growled in her throat, claws unsheathing impulsively, the tom's eyes dancing with amusement, just _daring_ her to attack him. After a moment she, reluctantly, sheathed them again.

"You're lucky we're at a Gathering, fox-dung." She hissed under her breath. Temper or no, she knew how important it was to never lay a claw on another Clan cat.

"Wise choice." The warrior sniffed. "I'm looking forward to seeing you one day on the battlefield. My apprentice Harpiepaw will shred you into kit bedding." As he said this, a white and amber-flecked she-cat sat up higher, a gleam to her eyes that just spelled trouble.

"Well tell the mice-kits of CliffClan they'll be missing their promised bedding, because I won't even leave anything _left_ of your apprentice if I fight her in a battle," Kestrelpaw returned evenly, turning away with a swift flick of her tail, dismissing them as no longer there. Ignoring them, she stocked away, feeling both a little furious and triumphant.

When she heard someone coming up behind her quickly she whirled around, claws already unsheathed. If they wanted to try something, she'd defend herself! It would be _their_ fault anyway!

She stopped short as she spied the ValleyClan apprentice that had been near them, a long-furred brown tabby-and-white apprentice with long fur sticking out everywhere.

"That was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid of you to stand up to Hawkclaw and his three little cronies like that," the apprentice admired.

"Eh, he didn't scare me." Kestrelpaw shrugged.

"You must not know much about him then," the apprentice shivered. "I'm Fuzzpaw, from ValleyClan."

"Kestrelpaw's my name. I'm from CanopyClan."

"I could tell," Fuzzpaw mused before perking slightly. "MarshClan is arriving." He said. Kestrelpaw sniffed the air and noted a somewhat peaty, muddy wet scent, but mingled with the scents of cats. A large orange tabby with a white chest came up the way with white and black-spotted she-cat leading the group.

"That's Bigstar and Quickstream, MarshClan's leader and deputy."

"I could figure that much on my own," Kestrelpaw said with just the barest hint of annoyance. Really, didn't he think she was smart enough to figure that out on her own?

"Hey, you should listen to some of the elder's stories. I think Flameflight is telling his best one right now!" Fuzzpaw said enthusiastically before taking off. Kestrelpaw could make out Leafrustle and Blackowl there already and several other elders. As she neared she could tell them apart easier.

There were two tom elders from CliffClan, one a large black and white and the other silver. From ValleyClan were a black tom, a sand-colored she-cat, and a blue-gray she-cat. And from MarshClan was a sand-colored she-cat with a white face and chest and a light ginger tom with a scar down one shoulder.

"…and fire was racing across the valley, I tell ya, faster than a falcon can dive. The wind was blowing smoke _everywhere_ so you couldn't see or scent anything even tail-lengths in front of you. I tell ya, I thought I was a goner for sure," the black ValleyClan elder was telling, everyone's rapt attention on him. "So I ran and ran blindly, not sure if I went straight or in circles, even to this day, trying to get breath but I couldn't cuz the smoke was so thick! Just runnin' and runnin'." He told, kneading the air with his front paws as if running right then and there, sitting on his hind legs.

"How'd you get out?" One of the apprentices asked excitedly, eyes wider than full moons.

"Well, StarClan guide our paws, it's the only reason. I _should've_ died, but here I am, to tell the tale! Whoop…got a little side-tracked…" He mewed, scratching behind one ear. "Anywho, I fled as fast as I could while the wind blew the flames at my tail and paws, scorched me a few times, that it did, but I sprinted faster than a hare, yup. And just my luck, I found a rabbit hole and dove in sure as the sun shines!"

"Last time you told it, it was a ditch." One of the other elders said, rolling their eyes.

"And an old badger's set the time before that." Another added.

"Shush! This is my tale! And rabbit hole…badger set, ditch, it don't matter! It was a _hole_, okay? Now…where was I…" He mused, trailing off before shaking his head. "Now hold on just a darn minute, I smell some'in foul that I haven't smelt in a while." He said, scenting the air.

Kestrelpaw perked her ears curiously and scented the air as well, the faint stench of sickness reaching her senses and making her wrinkle her nose.

"Ugh…what is _that_?" She mewled, covering her nose with her paw.

"PlagueClan is what it is." Leafrustle mewed, sitting up.

"An' just what would those vermin be doing here?" Flameflight growled. Kestrelpaw noticed the movement of cats coming toward them and tilted her head slightly, watching until a large brown tom with emerald eyes heaved himself over the edge, his fur hanging in patches. He looked like a cat about ready to kill over from greencough or some other disease if not for the confident way he carried himself, watery eyes observing everything around him with head raised.

The other Clan cats moved as far away from them as most of the Clan stayed at the back, the large brown tom making his way to where the other leaders were gathering, a gray and white tom with much more kempt fur following him, intelligent blue eyes gazing only forward, only a few patches on his haunches and shoulder bare.

"That's Emeraldstar, but I don't see their deputy, Adderstrike…bit unusual…though them coming at all is even more so." Leafrustle whispered. Emeraldstar leapt up onto the HighWatch next to the other leader's, dipping his head and exchanging a quick greeting before Bearstar stepped to the front.

"It is time for the Gathering to begin!" He announced. The leader's waited patiently for a few moments as the cats gathered around, sitting with their own Clan's and occasionally casting spiteful or suspicious gazes in the direction of the PlagueClan cats who still sat at the back.

"CanopyClan is doing well. Tonight, I bring you one of our two newest apprentices, Kestrelpaw! Jaguarpaw has also been named apprentice, but she is not at this Gathering."

"Kestrelpaw! Kestrelpaw!" The Clan's cheered, except for PlagueClan, which watched silently. Kestrelpaw felt a rush of pride and sat up taller despite herself, feeling as though the whole world was cheering for her. In only a few moments it was over but it didn't diminish how she felt. "We also have two new kits, totaling at six right now. Unfortunately we still have a few occasional troubles with the dogs but we have it under control and have not lost a single cat to them since Stickerclaw was killed." Stepping back, he respectfully dipped his head for the next leader to go first.

A silver tabby tom with a white jaw stood up next, Peakstar.

"CliffClan has lost a few more warriors this leaf-bare to the cold, harsh winter of the mountains, but in this sadness, we remain strong, and find new hope. We had five new kits born into our Clan at the beginning of new-leaf, and all are strong and healthy." A quiet ripple of congratulations swept through the group as Peakstar stepped back so that Knightstar, a dark silver tom with a white patch on his chest, could step up.

"ValleyClan has little hardship to worry over, but we do have a new medicine cat apprentice, Rootpaw, who helped two of our elders, Flameflight and Darkriver recover from greencough to see another year." Knightstar reported promptly before stepping down. Next was Bigstar.

"The ice in MarshClan's territory has finally melted off completely, and the salmon are once again spawning into our territory, bringing plenty of fresh prey. We also have one new apprentice, Littlepaw."

"Littlepaw! Littlepaw!" The Clan's cried, a calico-and-white tom sitting up a bit sheepishly to accept his praise. Bigstar stepped back, and now it was Emeraldstar's turn.

"PlagueClan has two new kits, though its uncertain how long they will be among us." Emeraldstar reported stoicly. Everyone knew that the PlagueClan cats weren't called that for no reason, and many of the younger or weaker cats died before long. "Also, our former deputy, Adderstrike, passed away recently. I present to all of you, PlagueClan's new deputy, Stormfront." He boomed, the silver cat that had been following before standing up tall with a prideful gleam to his eyes. Only a few scattered voices aside from the PlagueClan cats welcomed him, and it was hardly with any real happiness. The rest were murmuring to each other suspiciously.

"If no one else has anything to report, I believe this Gathering is over." Emeraldstar said, leaping down from the HighWatch. The other leaders briefly murmured to each other before Knightstar stood up.

"The Gathering is dismissed."

* * *

**Authors Note(2):** Please **REVIEW!**

~Kou


End file.
